« August 2008 | Main | October 2008 »
Remember a few weeks back when Hurricane Ike slammed into the Texas region? The effects are still being felt and help is still needed.
C.O.R.E stands for Christians Organized for Relief Efforts. The group was initially started by two churches, but soon discovered that a greater impact in aid could be made by a group of churches working together. Help is needed.
View: C.O.R.E. Alliance
Born in Italy 347, Jerome died near Bethlehem on September 30, 420. He was buried in the church of the Nativity. Later his body was removed to Rome.
Christopher Hall in his book Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers, describes him as “a wondrous example of God’s grace working through” a person who was quick to take offense and lash out fiercely at opponents or those with whom he disagreed. “To attack Jerome’s opinion was to attack Jerome.”
On the other hand, he could be remarkably gentle, particularly with children. He advised a friend teaching his daughter the alphabet to include play in her lessons. “Do not scold her if she is slow. Arouse her ambition with praise.” “Give her some little present.” “Above all, never let her hate her studies, otherwise the bitterness learned in childhood may last until she is of mature years.” Today we know that positive reinforcement promotes learning.
Jerome was well educated. He was the only church father who knew Hebrew well. In 386 he settled in Bethlehem. Working in a large rock-hewn cell, he translated the Bible into Latin, the language of the people. Later his translation would be known as the Vulgate. It would be the standard Latin translation for 15 centuries.
God in his grace includes and uses all sorts of people in his Church. Hall writes, “In modern terms, Jerome displayed a finely tuned mind, a warm but troubled heart, and poor people skills.”
John 15:12, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
Notice, that Jesus doesn’t command us to like one another. The pattern for our life is the great love for us that led Jesus to lay down his life for you and me, his friends.
Michael is an archangel called a “great prince” in Daniel 10 & 12. He fought for the people of Israel in a time of trouble. According to Revelation 12, he led the heavenly army against the dragon, that ancient serpent, also known as the devil and Satan. Satan had deceived Christ’s followers and accused them day and night before God. But now he has been cast out of heaven. However, he has landed on earth in great wrath, for he knows his time is short.
The only means we have to conquer him is by the blood of Christ and the Word of the Gospel. Therefore, when the seventy two returned to Jesus in Luke 10 they rejoiced over their power over demons in Jesus’ name. Jesus said that he had seen Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Nevertheless, the fall of Satan is not a time for Schadenfreude. The true cause for rejoicing is that our names are written in heaven where they are backed and guaranteed in Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Everlasting God, You have ordained and constituted the service of angels and men in a wonderful order. Mercifully grant that, as Your holy angels always serve and worship You in heaven, so by Your appointment they may also help and defend us here on earth; through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen
Psalm 27:4, One thing have I asked of the Lord, that I will seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
Early in my ministry, when our children were preschoolers, I received a call to a congregation where the parsonage was directly attached to the church. I might have viewed the situation more positively had I read Ps. 27:4.
Of course, we think of the prophetess Anna, who “did not depart from the temple.” When Mary and Joseph brought their infant son, Jesus, to the temple, she “gave thanks to God and spoke of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.” She was in the temple “worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.”
Because of Jesus, we don’t have to live in a house attached to the church. Jesus declared that He is the temple. (John 2:19) Though he was destroyed, just as Solomon’s was in 586 and Herod’s temple in 70 AD, Jesus would raise his temple in three days, which He did in the resurrection.
Now, in baptism, we dwell in Christ and therefore in the house of the Lord. In Jesus, the Lord’s house we behold the beauty of our Savior. We are sheltered during our journey on earth. Jesus is a hiding place where we are covered from the accusations of sin and the judgment of God. We are set upon a high Rock and that Rock is Christ, who keeps us safe and secure during all the storms of life. (Ps. 27:5)
Gracious God, You heard the cry of your Son and kept him safe in your shelter in the day of evil Keep us also secure in the shelter of Your Son when the storms of life bring darkness and turmoil. In Jesus name. Amen.
Ps. 27:1, The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Are we really able to speak the words of Ps. 27:1 when all is light and goodness in our life and we are able to clearly see the path ahead? Does this verse have real meaning when we are safe and secure and there is no wolf at the door? Is the Lord really the stronghold of my life when I am strong and on top of everything?
A few days ago I was walking under Luther’s Tower at Concordia Seminary; St. Louis. President, Dale Meyer was talking to someone. He called out, “Ron Jansen, I’m in over my head.” Since I had just started to fill a vacancy, I said, “So am I.”
Whether we are a seminary president, a pastor failing retirement, a mother struggling to keep ones sanity, a small business person facing overwhelming challenges, or being continually squeezed by the economy, then we can begin to understand that it is the Lord who is our light, salvation and strength. In the dark times of life I am able to see what Jesus means when he says, “I am the light of the world.” When I am weak, then I can boast in the Lord’s strength shown on the cross. When I have no defenses left, then I can look to Christ as my true fortress and protector. When illness brings me down, then I can confess that I will again see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
The Psalmist concludes his prayer reminding us in v. 14, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
Psalm 27, the psalm for this past Sunday begins, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Then the poet changes the metaphor, “The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
During my freshman year at Concordia, St. Paul, MN, Prof. Harold Otte directed the Chorale Club choir. Every weekday afternoon I sat in the 2nd tenor section in the renovated basement of one of the pre-20th century buildings on campus.
On July 31, 2007 Dr. Otte died. According to his son, a treasured friend visited him that day and read psalm 27 Dr. Otte and his wife. During the reading of the psalm Dr. Otte simply closed his eyes and stopped breathing. Concordia U. President Dr. Robert Holst, who in his student days also sang under Dr. Otte’s direction, writes, “Quietly and peacefully, God transferred him from time into eternity…We who still wait and watch continue to find peace and can express our faith in the words of that ancient hymn, I am still confident of this: I will see the Day of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord: be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:13-14.”
Hausvater is German for housefather. The Hausvater Project describes their mission as follows,
The Hausvater Project seeks to equip Christian men and women for distinctive and complementary voactions in family, church, and society, by fostering research and education in light of Holy Scripture as proclaimed by the Lutheran Confessions.
View: The Hausvater Project
Today is the first day of Autumn. The LSB also lists September 22 as the day to remember Jonah, the reluctant prophet.
The Lord said “Get up and go to Nineva.” Jonah got up and fled down to Joppa, down to a ship, down in the hold when the Lord threw up a storm. Reluctantly, the sailors threw the fleeing prophet out into the sea where he sank down, down. The Lord sent a fish to swallow him up and while riding about in the fish’s dark gullet he threw up a prayer to the Lord.
Herman Melville wrote a poem about Jonah called, “The Ribs and Terrors….”
In black distress, I called my God,
When I could scarce believe Him mine,
He bowed His ear to my complaints-
No more the while did me confine.
With speed He flew to my relief,
As on a radiant dolphin borne;
Awful, yet bright, as lightning shone
The face of my Deliverer God.
My song for ever shall record
That terrible, that joyful hour;
I give the glory to my God,
His all the mercy and the power.
Chapters Into Verse, Vol. 1 p. 446. Oxford University Press, 1993
My father, oldest brother and I all attended Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO. The top ten reasons presented by the Seminary are a fine start to why one should choose to study in one of many programs offered. I am grateful for the opportunity to study at Concordia Seminary in the Deaconess program. This opportunity restored a faith weakened by various trials and tribulations. I believe the Deaconess program is a fine addition to both Seminarys in St. Louis and Fort Wayne, IN.
View: Top Ten Reaons
Recent Comments